Establishing The Urban Academy
Claire Lanyon

"I began at Kids Company in September 2005 to establish the Urban Academy and co-ordinate the 'alternative' curriculum for young people. I feel passionately about the concept of the Urban Academy: to provide education and life skills to vulnerable young people who have not managed to succeed in other educational settings. My days are spent working closely with our fantastic staff team to develop our programme and encouraging and supporting young people to sign up to the programmes and to succeed. The greatest reward for me is seeing our young people achieve. For example, getting their First Aid certificates, passing driving tests, engaging in English classes or flourishing in film and art."

Developing the Curriculum
Gary Hawke

"I have been involved with the Urban Academy for about a year. Originally, I helped develop the curriculum plan for the educational programmes. As a teacher and therapist, I am interested in both the cognitive and emotional development of young people. It was always my aim when developing the Urban Academy that the work carried out here should engage the student, enabling them to discover their potential and then harness their potential in ways that allow the student to grow in emotional and cognitive confidence. I am proud to say that all the work carried out here meets that aim."

Therapeutic Massage
Jenny Marinova

"I work at the Urban Academy providing therapeutic services to the young people. Massage is much more than a luxury treatment which makes us feel good. There are numerous health benefits which have been recognised and valued for thousands of years. Massage promotes health by boosting the body's own processes. Through therapeutic massage the young people experience a positive and nurturing touch. This then reduces physical, mental and emotional stress."

Clinical Psychology
Heidi Backman

"As a trained clinical psychologist, I have worked with children, adolescents and young people who have special learning difficulties as well as / or emotional and behavioural difficulties. My main therapeutic training is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, but in the last five years I have especially trained in dealing with psychological trauma and the different techniques involved, such as psychological debriefing, cognitive restructuring, ego strengthening, EMDR etc. I am also trained for in-depth assessment of learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia), IQ's and recommend learning strategies to help the youth."

Child Protection
Maureen Bowen

"I have worked for Kids Company for 10 years and have had various roles within the organisation. I've been Camila's PA, Head of Adolescence Services, which included liaising with external agencies, as well as work placements. I am currently the Child Protection Co-ordinator, which involves taking the referrals from the local authority and managing the cases until our intervention ceases. I am the designated Criminal Records Bureau co-ordinator, which involves dealing with new staff and volunteers. I also liaise with other agencies such as The Prince's Trust, Pecan and local authorities, to encourage young people to attend the Urban Academy as well as encouraging our young people at the Arches II to come here. Many have joined the Driving Theory course which I supervise."

Yes, Chef!
Paula Brady

"My name is Paula and I am the facilities manager at the Urban Academy, we have lots of courses here that will benefit anyone willing to take them. I cook for the kids and staff here and run cookery classes - my speciality is cake decorating. I also run the 'Running your Own Home' workshops where we teach our students to manage their own domestic lives and settings as most of them live on their own. We have an easy manner here and the lunch time is amazing as it brings everyone together and creates a family atmosphere."

Experiments in Fashion
Susan Ibreck & Anne Scheadler

"The fashion workshops are linked to the development of the Kids Company fashion label, Bare Thread. During the course the young people will experience all aspects of fashion design and have an insight into how a fashion business is run. Emphasis is on development of creative, visual and processing skills, encouraging and improving drawing skills and portfolio development. A big part of the course is to introduce the young people to in-depth research, design processes and design development all building up towards the production of actual garments which is hugely rewarding in itself. The course structure includes lessons with guest teachers from the industry. The course is designed to prepare the young people for fashion and art colleges, following a similar structure to mainstream education, but with the extra bit of love and support needed."

Film Production
Miray Mehmet & Susan Ibreck

"The film production workshop at the Urban Academy has been running since November 2005. Today, digital media is a popular tool for young people as an avenue to voice their opinions and unleash their creativity. By making a film together, the students learn all the steps involved in filmmaking from script writing to editing and along the way discover new talents and skills. At the end of the course, the students will have a visual portfolio and also tangible skills such as scripting, storyboarding, camera operating, sound, lighting, editing etc. During the course' we help find our students relevant work experience and at the end of it encourage them to extend their new skills into further education or employment."

The Urban Academy and Neuro Terrorism
David van Eeghen

"Neuro Terrorism is a research project that Kids Company has been doing for the last 5 months. The research is focusing on the brain development of young people who have grown up in an environment of extreme chronic stress. The theory is that the hormones that are released during stress can actually temporarily freeze the natural development of the brain. Whilst this is a natural defence against Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, if the stress goes on for too long or is frequent enough, the hormones actually begin to damage the brain. From seeing how our clients improve over time with the input from Kids Company it seems that this damage is reversible. We know that our work is helping to reverse the damage as studies have shown that people do not simply grow out of it."